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Titus North/trails
Issues Statement We need to improve Pittsburgh's finances by ending corporate welfare. We can renegotiate the stadium leases to get a better deal. We need to say "no" to slot machines and a city-financed hockey arena and "yes" to grass-roots community development. We need to foster better police-community relations. By Titus on 2005, July 5, 2005 Source document * End Corporate Welfare * Solve Policing Problems * What kind of city do we want? (No slots) * Save Public Transportation * Improve Public Schools * Campaign for Peace * Building the Green Party End Corporate Welfare On the day after Pittsburgh voters overwhelmingly rejected a referendum to approve using taxpayer funds to destroy Three Rivers Stadium and build two new stadiums in its place, Mayor Tom Murphy and City Council Chairman Bob O'Connor announced "Plan B," which was to build the stadiums anyway. Not only was this a massive waste of taxpayer money, but the current contracts governing the operation of the stadiums does not provide the city with an adequate share of the revenue generated by the stadiums. It is imperative that these contracts be renegotiated to end the corporate welfare going to the sports franchises. Oakland is inhabited largely by non-profit organizations that do not pay property taxes. Yet some of these "non-profits," like UPMC, pay their executives huge salaries while allowing premiums to skyrocket. These entities need to pay user fees or otherwise provide services to the city commensurate with the services they receive from the city. Solve Policing Problems Police work is difficult and dangerous, and the police provide a vital public service. At the same time, there have been too many instances of excessive or unnecessary use of force by police, particularly in minority neighborhoods. Police today find themselves in the position of being on the front-line of a "War on drugs," which was declared not by police but by opportunistic politicians. Drug use itself should be viewed as a public health problem and not a crime problem. However, under the War on Drugs, minority youths in particular find themselves locked up in jails and prisons at higher rates than whites even though drug use is just as much a problem in white communities. Police need to make sure that the natural loyalties they feel to each other do not allow for tolerance of instances of racism or brutality. We need greater community input into policing practices to make sure that police can do their job without tragic mistakes. Save Public Transportation Recent proposals to discontinue bus services on weekends and shutdown bus lines would strand large numbers of working people, seniors, and others who depend on public transportation to get to jobs, stores, and doctors. It is imperative that Pittsburgh maintain a viable public transit system. Improve Public Schools The city government needs to work together with the school districts to make sure that public school children spend their days in a clean and safe environment that is conducive to learning. Current proposals for closing dozens of public schools are based on the claim that "25% of desks are empty." Just because classrooms have the capacity for 30 or 40 children does not mean that they should be filled to capacity. If schools are to be learning centers and not just daycare centers, the goal should be to maintain a proper student/teacher ratio, and not simply apply business school logic about capacity utilization. Building the Green Party Although the Republican Party has been moving steadily to the right over the past 25 years, the Democrats have adopted a strategy of "if you can't beat them, join them," so the difference between the two parties remains small. Our two-party system does not give voters a choice between war and peace, only a choice between tactics for fighting wars. It does not give voters a choice between corporate welfare and social welfare, only a choice between which corporations feed first at the trough of the public treasury. The only way to achieve progressive political goals at the local, national, and international level is to build an alternative to the two-party oligarchy that has destroyed our democracy. The Green Party is a champion of peace and social justice that is working to stop the occupation of Iraq, halt the war on drugs, end racism and discrimination, and divert public resources away from giveaways to the corporate/military complex and towards schools, communities, public transport, renewable energy sources, and a cleaner environment. By voting for Green candidates, you help build the Green Party even if the candidate does not get elected, making it easier for Green candidates to win future elections. This is a worthwhile goal. In the final analysis, isn't a vote for a Republican or Democrat who represents the corrupted status quo the ultimate wasted vote? Recent Public Statements Regarding a study on jobs created by the stadiums ''Transcript of comments to City Council from Sep 27, 2005. As the city contemplates the establishment of slot casinos in Pittsburgh in order to improve the city's economy, I think it would be worthwhile for the city council to commission an independent study on the jobs created by the stadiums whose construction the City Council approved following the voter's rejection of the referendum on new stadiums. While proponents of slot casinos claim that these facilities will create good jobs, these claims should not simply be taken at face value. Our universities have esteemed policy programs and could be enlisted in this study. Thank you. Regarding the Salvation Army's attempt to acquire parkland in Pittsburgh Transcript of comments to City Council from Oct 4, 2005. I would like to address the issue of the effort by the Salvation Army to acquire parkland owned by the City for their recreation center project. I feel strongly that the city should not let go of any of its parkland or any other resources unless it is sold at a fair market price. The Salvation Army last year received one and a half billion dollars from the Crock estate, so it is fully capable of paying for any land it requires for its projects. While the Salvation Army may be among the best-run charitable institutions, it is not right for it to get municipal governments to compete with each other to provide free or cheap land to it, especially after recently receiving the largest charitable donation in history. Municipal governments themselves exist to provide services to the public, and giving away public land to private institutions is not in the public interest. I would like to request that the City Council respectfully inform the Salvation Army of this fact and open channels of communications with other municipal governments that are in talks with the Salvation Army on this project so that a common stand can be taken by local governments. The Salvation Army may be a non-profit corporation, but it has its own priorities, including religious proselytizing, and not everyone share all aspects of its agenda. The city must cease this kind of corporate welfare at taxpayer expense. Thank you. Regarding Community Policing and Police Boxes Transcript of comments to City Council from Oct 18, 2005. Today I would like to address the issue of community policing. Ms. Carlisle has been drawing attention to the problem of violent crime in the Homewood neighborhood, and I applaud her efforts. I lived in Tokyo for nine years, and I would like to share with City Council the style of community policing practiced in Japan, as it might provide a good example for what can be done here. Community policing in Japan revolves around the "police box." Police boxes are small buildings, usually with two rooms, scattered around town such that practically everyone lives within walking distance of at least one. The police boxes act as bases from which police patrol neighborhoods, typically on bicycle. With a fixed base of operations in the community, police develop a much more familiar relationship with the community that they would if they were patrolling in policy cars dispatched from a central location. Also, people in the community have the option of going straight to the police box with their problems rather than calling the police and waiting for them to arrive. For example, a woman who is the victim of domestic violence and flees her house would have somewhere to go rather than having to wait at some fixed location, wondering who would show up first. With the high vacancy rate in Pittsburgh's distressed neighborhoods, there is no shortage of buildings that could be cheaply and quickly converted into police boxes. Abandoned buildings are themselves a major problem for the city and a magnet for criminal activity. It's vital to get occupants into the buildings that can be used and to remove buildings that are beyond repair. Converting some of these buildings to police boxes could pave the way for an improved relationship between police and communities, one in which residents view police as neighbors who are part of their community. Obviously, Japan and the United States are vary different societies, but the police box system works extremely well in Japan and is credited as a major reason that violent crime rates are only a small fraction there what they are here. The idea deserves consideration. Thank you. What kind of city do we want? Transcript of message by Titus North to be broadcast on KQV Radio. Alternatively, you can listen to the message in ogg vorbis format (1.5 MB) and mp3 format (1.8 MB). Pittsburghers need to ask what kind of city we want. Pittsburgh's leaders have tied its fate to the success of favored corporations. Publicly financed stadiums were built for teams and tax breaks given to corporations. What has been the result? A major department store closed as soon as its tax breaks ran out and the city is saddled with debts from the stadiums. Also, massive non-profit corporations who aren't taxed but pay executive salaries of hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars gobble up real estate, taking land of the tax rolls. The mayor must renegotiate the stadium leases with teams who are always ready to renegotiate with their players, and non-profits must be made to pay their fair share for the city services they rely on. Now, to fix the city's fiscal mess, the people who created the problem say we need casinos to save us. Casinos will not create good paying jobs and what revenues they produce will come from the pocket of the people who often can least afford it. With dozens of gambling outlets planned in and around Pennsylvania, we cannot assume that ours will draw in a significant number of patrons from outside our area. Also gambling will worsen problems such as crime and personal bankruptcy. What we need is sustainable community development. Our neighborhoods have too many abandoned buildings. Buildings that are usable should be made available to the disabled, homeless and to urban homesteaders who can earn the deeds to their homes by fixing and living in them. Parks, recreation facilities, and social services should also be a priority. The kind of Pittsburgh we want is one of functioning communities that can retain residents and attract new people. Our emphasis should be on people, people who take care of their families, pay their taxes, and create jobs for themselves and others or who lure employers to Pittsburgh with an attractive workforce and not with tax breaks and give-aways. For more information, check North4Mayor.org. Thank you. Regarding Iraq and military recruitment First, I would like to commend City Council for having passed a resolution expressing its opposition to the war in Iraq, and I urge city council to follow up by passing a new resolution calling for an immediate end to the occupation and the withdraw of troops. Furthermore, I feel that the City Council should include in this resolution language calling on Pennsylvania's Congressional delegation and Congress as a whole to cease appropriating any more funds to this immoral war. There have already been 100 Pennsylvanians among the carnage in Iraq and it is time to put an end to the tragedy. Also, regarding military recruitment, the Pittsburgh School Board has allowed for parents to opt out of having their teenage children's information passed to military recruiters, and I urge City Council members to make efforts to see to it that all parents in their districts are aware of this opt-out option. Regarding police conduct at August 20th demonstration Letter to the editor concerning the counter-recruitment demonstration that took place on Saturday, August 20th in Oakland. The violent over-reaction of the police to the anti-war/counter-recruitment demonstration last Saturday needs to be put in perspective. Some in the press are contending that a demonstrator hit the camera of a Fox News reporter, thus justifying the police response. The issue of whether there was improper behavior from any of the demonstrators should not be confused with the issue of whether the police response was appropriate. The four people who were arrested and charged will have their day in court, but it is vital that we have a police force that can respond professionally and appropriately to situations, and that obviously was not the case on Saturday. For instance, a man carrying his four-year-old daughter and who by no accounts was guilty of any provocation was doused with pepper spray. A 68-year-old woman whose only "provocation" was to plead with a police officer not to let his dog attack a man sitting motionless on the sidewalk was herself bitten. A young woman who is accused of interfering in an arrest was shot point-blank in the eyes with pepper spray by an officer who first snatched her glasses away and then Tasered as she convulsed on the sidewalk. No policeman should so threatened by a much smaller, unarmed, and already incapacitated woman that he would resort to the potentially lethal Taser. To put it in perspective, star athletes like pitcher Kenny Rogers routinely knock cameras out of the hands of reporters. Would that justify the police dispersing his teammates and then pepper-spraying their daughters, attacking their mothers with dogs, and Tasering their girlfriends? Of course not. Why then should we condone just such an over-reaction by police when a demonstrator does the same thing? If this is how the police respond to such a minor incident in a small and otherwise orderly protest, we must address the problem immediately. The mayor should launch an investigation into the matter and the police involved should testify before the Civilian Police Review Board. Category:Planks